The billionaire founder of Domino’s Pizza has won a victory in court on his recent attempt to thwart the part of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, that requires employers to provide contraceptive and reproductive health services to their employees, on the grounds that it violates his religious beliefs. One Federal Judge agrees with Thomas Monaghan’s claim.

This issue may seem black or white, depending upon which side of the coin you are on. Small business owners argue that their religious freedoms are being imposed upon, while workers claim that they are having religious beliefs forced upon them in the form of a restriction from a health care benefit that others are getting. The question is, do business owners have the right to force employees into following the same religious guidelines that they do by denying certain types of medical care?

Monaghan filed the claim last month on behalf of himself and Domino’s Farms Corporation. Monaghan has sold most of his stake in Domino’s Pizza, is no longer affiliated with the running of the company, and this lawsuit does not represent them. Domino’s Farms Corporation is a property management company.

Judge Larence Zatkoff said in his order late Sunday that Monaghan had shown that “abiding by the mandate will substantially burden his exercise of religion.” So, will this part of the Obamacare bill have to be taken out, or will employers get a choice? What about those who want to receive contraceptive coverage? Will there be a private benefit that they will have to pay for themselves if their employer’s religious beliefs conflict with contraception?

Gabriel Legend covers current events for Gather News, and writes horror fiction. If you like an article from Gabriel please share it using the social media links below. Follow Gabriel Legend on Twitter (@GabeLegend).

I'm a complete geek who loves all sorts of geeky stuff like technology, Star Trek and Dungeons & Dragons. I play guitar and sing a little, and I write horror fiction whenever I'm not covering the news for Gather.